Joe Biden plans to name Gina McCarthy as his White House adviser on climate change, according to reports.
Ms McCarthy previously served under Barack Obama as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
In the White House she will coordinate the president-elect’s domestic climate policies and help Mr Biden carry out his promise of putting the US on track to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Mr Biden will also name Ali Zaidi, New York state’s deputy secretary for energy and environment, as Ms McCarthy’s deputy, says the New York Times.
Ms McCarthy, who has years of experience in environmental policy at state and federal level, has worked as chief executive of the Natural Resources Defense Council since January.
She will work alongside former Secretary of State John Kerry, who Mr Biden has tapped as his special presidential envoy for climate change.
“A new era of climate accountability is upon us. The US is back on task,” said former vice president Al Gore.
Mr Gore called Ms McCarthy “uniquely suited for the job” and said it showed that Mr Biden was “serious about America leading by example and driving deep reductions in pollution and climate emissions.”
